The Dragon and the Phoenix
by SwordSkill
Summary: CHAP 3 UP. Megumi bumps into Sano in Shanghai and together they unravel a plot that could ruin Japan. Yet amid the constant threats to their lives, one question remains: will they finally acknowledge the unspoken love they have for one another?
1. A Man Called Sano

** A/N:** I think it's about time I wrote this full (and bound to be very long) fic...something that I said that I'd do, and never got around doing it until now. Well, that's SwordSkill...late, but at least not never.^^ Anyhow, I hope the reader will enjoy this ditty I wrote...

**The Dragon and the Phoenix**  
  
Chapter One:   
A Man Called Sano 

  


_Dear Takani Megumi of Aizu,_

We, the Doctors's Guild of Japan, have acknowledged you as one of the potential leading medical people of Japan. In order to broaden the medicinal education of our country's doctors, we invite you, along with nine other people, for a one-week doctors' convention in Shanghai, China. Many topics shall be included in this convention, such as acupuncture, Chinese herbal remedies, and the like. Enclosed in this letter are all the documents and money needed to make your stay in China as comfortable as possible. Should you decide to join us, you will find upon your arrival a local to guide you to the places you might need to go to in Shanghai. 

We certainly hope you would accept our invitation. Domo arigato gozaimasu.

At your service,   
the Doctors' Guild of Japan

  
  


The ship hooted its arrival on the port of Shanghai.

Shanghai was a great city where life sprang at every corner. Busy people, Chinese and foreigners, milled around across the streets, great structures dotted the streets themselves, and the noise! Rickshaw boys offered their services at the loudest way possible, vendors shouted their wares, children laughed and screamed, and the sounds of shoes quickly stepping on the pavement and the _clip-clop_ of horse carriages were always present. The atmosphere of action permeated the air, for this was Shanghai, China's liveliest city.

As the captain began announcing the instructions on docking, Takani Megumi grabbed her handbag, feeling contagious to the exhilirating energy Shanghai produced. She knew that in China, and most especially in Shanghai, time was golden, and speed was everyone's best friend, lest you wanted to be trampled by the hordes of people that constituted China's teeming population.

It was only when she waited on the port for the shipmen to unload the baggages did she feel a bit lonely. She was surrounded by the many, many faces and the words of the Chinese, and she felt overwhelmed. As much as she had looked forward for this trip, she could not help longing for some Japanese companionship. Certainly, she had a made a few friends with the Japanese passengers on board the ship, but the friendship was only short-lived. She would probably not see them again. China was an entirely new world to her.

"Yeah, I thought I'd find you here, Megitsune," a familiar voice behind her said in straight Japanese.

Megumi's insides froze, the voice making her memory fly years and years back to the figure of a man called Sano. Different emotions filled her. It couldn't be...!

She slowly and deliberately turned around. And there he was indeed, Sagara Sanosuke. He was older, older than she could ever remember. His face was tanned, lined with hardships and experience, and hardened after fifteen years' worth of toil. She could see that life had not been kind to him, nor had luck been generous. And there was a sort of quiet resignation to him she had never seen, along with his longer hair and growing beard. 

His frame was taller, more rugged, and more muscular, wearing a new yet the same-styled white jacket with the word _Aku_ behind him. He seemed changed, yet at the same time unchanged. He still wore his bandages, his red bandanna a little tattered by now, and his trousers. Even his shoes didn't seem to have changed.

Megumi opened her mouth, her throat dry. "I hope you're not who I think you are," she finally said after blinking many times, "then my trip would have been ruined."

"Consider it ruined, I guess," replied Sano dryly, his voice deeper and more melancholic. "That's right, I'm your Shanghai contact."

"This is a joke, right?"

Sano shook his messy mop of hair. "I was living in Shanghai, I needed money _really_ badly, and this job offer came. Believe me, I was as shocked as you are now when I saw your name on my sheet of instructions. But you can't be picky when you're poor."

"But this is a bit too coincidental!" said Megumi, trying to convice herself. "How could you have been chosen to guide particularly _me_ in Shanghai? This must be some sort of dream." She passed a hand over her eyes and her brow in disbelief.

"I'm still here," said Sano, shrugging. "And are any of those your bags?" He looked at the luggages the port men were throwing on the deck.

When Megumi resignedly pointed her bags, Sano strode to one of the port men, said a few words in Chinese, and came back with Megumi's belongings.

"And you know Chinese too," commented Megumi. "I guess I should be flattered."

Sano shrugged again. "Hardly. Chinese is pretty similar to Japanese, and you know that our kanji was borrowed from the Chinese written language. Besides, when you live in China, where you have to talk to get yourself through almost everything, it's pretty easy to pick up the language."

"Really, O scholarly one? And I thought you thought fists were the best way to get through anything."

Sano grinned for the first time. "Yeah, that works fine too." He looked up to the sky. "I'm guessing it's about noontime. You hungry?"

"Let me guess: you are, aren't you?"

"Read my mind, fox. Got money?"

"Of course. The convention had things settled for me."

"Good, because all I have are a few yuans, and that's really _all_ I have." Sano cracked his neck, making Megumi jump. "So what kind of restaurant would you prefer? I know some really good ones that have delicious food, and they're dirt cheap."

Megumi furrowed her brow. "I think I have enough money for a semi-posh restaurant."

"All right. Follow me please, and don't get lost. Once you stray away from me, there's no saying what kind of guy would pick you up. So stick to the handsomest one while you can." Sano gave a rakish smile, and Megumi longed to box his ears.

He led her through Shanghai's long streets carrying her baggages, and as Megumi cautiously trailed behind him, she found herself suddenly thinking about him.

It had been a long time since he had left the dojo to shake off the police who had been after him for a crime he didn't commit. A very long time indeed, and nothing significant had happened between the two. Many times she had been awake in bed in Aizu thinking how Sano fared on his journeys, wondering if his big mouth had gotten him into trouble again, or maybe he had married someone already. Megumi shuddered at the last thought. She certainly couldn't prevent Sano from marrying anyone, but she knew she would feel very relieved if he hadn't.

"Here we are, kitsune," said Sano, stopping at a teahouse with the red words _Golden Carp_ at the gate. "Never eaten in this place before, but a lot of people said it's good." He dropped the baggages on his feet and said, "I'll wait here till you finish eating. I'll go eat lunch after we get your lodgings."

Megumi lifted her eyebrows. "You're not going to eat with me now?"

"Well, you did say semi-posh restaurant, and at the state that I'm in, I can't afford it."

Megumi hesitated then said, "I could treat you."

Sano shook his head. "Not necessary. After all, I'm just your Shanghai guide."

"But also my friend," insisted Megumi, surprisingly not only Sano but also herself. When had Sano ever pass up a chance to freeload? And when had she become this considerate? But still she said, "We may not like each other very much, but a friend is a friend."

"But-"

"Sano, go in," she ordered, and Sano obediently walked into the restaurant, feeling that he had lost another battle of wits with Megumi.

When they got themselves a table, Megumi let Sano rattle off a few main dishes to the waitress since he obviously knew a lot more about Chinese cuisine than Megumi. After he called for their pot of tea, Sano leaned towards her and said, "I got something for you for your birthday."

"Oh." Megumi wasn't sure of what to say. "I didn't know you'd remember."

Sano looked a bit uncertain from the answer, but nevertheless he fished something out of his pocket and placed it on the table. It was a small, green box with a band tied around it.

Megumi looked at it and said, "I hope it's not something that would explode on my face when I open it."

Sano rolled his eyes. "Just open it."

Megumi took the box in her hands, unwound the string, and opened it. Inside was a sealing chop to be used to stamp her name on paper. Her name was nicely carved on the smoothened side of the stone.

Chops weren't very special and one could easily buy one almost anywhere; she herself already owned two chops from Japan. But still she was touched that Sano remembered to buy her a present, despite his financially-troubled condition. "Thank you, Sano, it's very nice," she said, meaning it.

But before she could put it in her handbag, Sano grabbed the hand holding the chop. He said, "I know you think it's just another ordinary chop, and you think I must be a big buffoon in not getting you a more creative gift."

"Oh, not at all," said Megumi, trying to slip her hand away, but Sano held fast.

"But there's something special with that," he continued, looking at her. "The stone is made of good jade, see." He opened her hand and took the chop. He lifted it up to the sunlight, making the stone shine brilliantly with green light. "It's not best-quality because I can't afford that kind, but this looks just as green." He looked exceptionally proud of himself. "China is famous for its jade, and I thought this would make a nice souvenir of your trip here. And your name," here he couldn't help puffing his chest out a bit, "I carved it myself." He grinned lopsidedly. "Now you can't say that I'm just a stupid oaf."

Megumi was speechless. Sano's simplicity was very moving and seeing how he looked so pleased, she knew he had spent a lot of time carving out her chop. She looked at it, and suddenly its worth grew a thousand times greater. Sano really had changed.

"Arigato, Sanosuke," she said softly. 

Sano smilingly crossed his arms and leaned back. "I learned a lot from my travels, like the more you learn new things, the more you feel that you know so few. And-" here he looked away, "how I didn't know that I'd miss...what I've left in Japan...so much, I guess."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Thankfully, it was interrupted by the Chinese girl placing their pot of tea on the table.

"So, why China, Sano?" asked Megumi as she poured herself a cup, hoping she could change the subject.

Sano looked as relieved to have the subject changed. "The cops back home don't have jurisdiction in countries other than Japan, so when I left home, I figured China would be as good as any place to start my journey across the world." Sano drank his cup. "Besides, it was close to Japan, so the ship fare was pretty decent." He poured himself another cup, and seeing that Megumi's was also empty, he moved in to pour hers too, much to her surprise. She shook her head, but Sano arched his eyebrow warningly and grinned, "Come on, give old Sano a whirl." 

Megumi threw her hands up in mock surrender. "All right, fine, Mr. Shanghai, impress me with your tea-pouring skills."

Sano's grin grew wider. He took the pot full of tea and balanced its bottom on the tips of his right hand's fingers. Then he took Megumi's cup, gave it a small throw, and it settled neatly on his left forefinger. He began to slowly twirl it in rotation, then he lifted the pot balanced on his right fingers and poured it cleanly in.

Megumi's eyebrows went up. "Sure is a lot of trouble for pouring a cup of tea."

"You just have no taste for the arts," said Sano, setting the cup and the pot down. Then he checked himself and chuckled. "Boy, I've always wanted to say that."

Megumi laughed.

"So..." Sano's voice trailed, then came back. "How is Kaoru dealing with...what happened to Kenshin?"

Megumi sobered. "She's doing all right, but it seems that she had contracted what Kenshin had too."

"Oh. I see." A look of quiet sorrow lingered in Sano's face at the remembrance of when he last saw Kenshin. Then a little smile came. "They were married already, right?"

"For fifteen years. I suppose Kenshin told you about his son Kenji?"

"Yeah. I knew it was coming, but I was pretty surprised." A wicked light came to his eyes. "I wonder how Kenshin finally got his guts to propose."

"Oh, you! You yourself knew they were bound to be together."

"I know, I know. And I bet I could have convince Kenshin to name Kenji Sanosuke instead if I was there." Sano laughed, clearing the air.

"Drop dead, rooster. The world can't risk having another you," Megumi said good-naturedly. She took a piece of shrimp and put it in her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully and said nonchalantly, "So, what about you?"

"Me?" repeated Sano merrily, legs splayed out and arms crossed on his chest. "Shanghai women are very pretty, I'll give you that, but they expect you to come with a bit of status and a lot of money."

"Well, what about girls in the other parts of China? You've been there, haven't you?"

"All parts of China and six times around the world. Then I come back to Shanghai once in a while, but I'm not exactly looking for women or anything like that. What about you?"

"A doctor's life doesn't leave one with a lot of free time," answered Megumi coolly.

"Hm-mm." And that was the end of that conversation, but Megumi had a feeling that something related to it would come up again soon enough.

After lunch, which Megumi dutifully paid for, Sano brought her and her baggages to the inn she was staying.

"Well, your convention's still after noon tomorrow," said Sano, "so you've got this afternoon and tomorrow morning free." He opened his mouth and nothing came out. Then he scratched his head and said, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then to take you to your convention."

"All right," said Megumi, hoping she looked like she was seriously making a mental note in her head.

"I'll meet you at the front of this inn."

"All right."

No one moved. Then both of them blurted out at the same time:

"Since you have nothing to do-"

"Are there places you'd recommend me to-"

Both of them stopped, uncertain of what to do. And Megumi, being the level-headed woman that she was, finally broke the silence with a practical "Are there places you'd recommend me to go?"

"Sure, there's a lot of great places in Shanghai," Sano replied with relief, a little color creeping into his cheeks. "I could show you around, if you'd like."

"Yes, I think I'd like that. It beats getting lost in a big city like Shanghai."

"All right. You look like you need rest now. About eight tomorrow morning?" 

"Suits me."

"Good. For once, we agree. Ja ne, kitsune!" And Sano gave her a jaunty salute before leaving the inn.

Despite herself, Megumi returned him a small wave. Then she took her new chop from her bag and looked at it. The deep-green stone gleamed with light. She ran her fingers on the carved name, _Takani Megumi_.

The doctor carefully put it back in her bag. 

***

Why did she have to come here?! Fifteen years apart, and although he could see the lines and wrinkles about developing on her skin, to him she had grown even more beautiful than he had remembered. But why here? Why now?

Sano threw himself on his makeshift bed and glanced up to his own lodgings with self-hatred. He lived in a small, dingy hut with a roof that fell off everyday and a wet floor that never ceased to bring him to his bottom. A pox on that leaking canal!

He thought he had finally left everything behind him, and that he was going to live his life anew. Now she came, and all he had tried to forgot for the past years were coming back to him with the speed of a furious thunderstorm.

He hated himself. He hated himself for being poor, for being a worthless gambler, one whose other job was working as a degraded coolie to the conceited, Western devils.

He hated the conversations he and Megumi had earlier, all of which were only fake, convenient pleasantries exchanged between mere acquaintances. He hated the chop he gave her because he was so poor and couldn't afford to buy anything with real value. He hated how he tried to show off with his shallow, tea-pouring tricks, tricks he learned from a drunken beggar.

He stood up and banged his head on the wall. The hut shook.

He clenched his fists in frustration.

He hated the fact that just a glance had made him start falling in love with her again.

**chapter one, end**

**P. A/N:** Nothing against Westerners for the "Western devils" bit, of course, but it just so happened that during that time period, the Chinese community wasn't whole-heartedly receptive of Westerners, especially after the Opium War.


	2. To Walk With a Lady

** A/N:** Should start hurrying the other chapters up. School is so frighteningly near...@_@ 

**The Dragon and the Phoenix**  
  
Chapter Two:   
To Walk With a Lady 

  


He could see her walking down the staircase in an elegant, blue kimono that took his breath away. Quickly turning around from her sight, he silently berated himself for having been so easily distracted. Any more of that attitude would result into actions she might not appreciate, and Kami-sama knows what kind of hot water would _that_ make him land into.

"Sano, I'm ready," came Megumi's voice.

_You sure are_, was what he wanted to say but instead he answered cheerfully, "That's pretty fast for the kitsune." This earned him a jab on the ribs which he had completely foreseen.

"So, I hope you know places here other than where to find the best drinks," said Megumi pointedly as they took the street. She spotted a boy shouting his services with a rickshaw and said, "Ever ridden in one of those?"

"Rickshaws?" said Sano, scratching his neck. "That was one of my jobs when I first came here. Want a ride? I know a place where fox women like to hang out: it's called the shopping bazaar."

Megumi was about to pull his ears but thought better of it.

Sano approached the boy and said, "You strong enough for us?"

The boy beamed a wide grin through the dirt that caked his face. "You betcha."

"Then give us a ride to the place that women like to hang out." Sano winked at him and the young boy laughed, "_Hao pa, hao pa._" 

"Jump up," said Sano to Megumi, holding out his hand. "Watch your step. These things can be pretty unsteady."

Megumi effortlessly carried herself onto the rickshaw with great aplomb, saying, "The only time that things can get pretty unsteady is when you're in it."

Sano climbed in and sat beside her. "Is that a compliment or an insult, fox?"

"I'd rather not say. We might fall out of the rickshaw."

Sano decided that any more pleasant attempts of conversation would fall on deaf ears.

The boy picked up the rickshaw and began running down the street. The sound of the wheels and the boy's _pit-pat-pit-pat_ filled their ears.

Megumi asked curiously, "Can their backs really stand the weight of adults?"

"They sure can. They'd grow up with big muscles too." Sano patted his own biceps. "But they can't be as large as mine."

"Not as large your mouth, that's for sure."

Sano crossed his arms. "Why is it that when I try to be nice, you just get even more kitsune?"

Megumi eyed him, propping her arm on the small window and resting her head. "It's called a defense system, Sagara. A woman can't be safe around someone like you."

Sano gave his widest grin. "I'll say. Pretty girls are dangerously liable to be captivated by my chocolate-brown eyes and my rugged, manly looks."

"You are the vainest man I've ever met on this planet."

"So ka? Well, what's this?" Sano quickly dabbed a finger on Megumi's made-up face. He felt a pleasant tingle that ran through his nerves, but he disregarded it and continued, "Paint?"

"It's called make-up, you dolt, in case you've never seen it before." Megumi edged away from him.

Sano made an imitation of sniffing the air. "And what's this? Perfume? Kitsune-onna, we're just going to have a walk around town, not a dinner party."

Megumi reddened, saying, "You keep quiet, Sagara-san, or I'll knock your teeth out."

"Many men have tried, but failed. Well, you _ are_ a kitsune-onna...now that's an entirely different matter."

Megumi looked peeved enough to breathe fire, but she just turned away and looked out of the window, brows drawn together. Sano leaned back and put his arms behind his head.

The rickshaw boy piped out almost sympathetically, "_Xiao jie shr ni de taitai ma?_ Is the missy your wife?"

Sano was indignant as he exclaimed, "No, she's not! Get back to your rickshaw!"

The boy grinned cheekily and said, "Then it must be hidden attraction, mister."

"Keep your eyes on the road!"

"Sanosuke, stop shouting, for goodness's sake!" said Megumi, looking annoyed.

"He started it!" replied Sanosuke defensively, pointing at the rickshaw boy who was happily whistling a tune as he ran.

"Oh? What did he say?"

"He said-" Sano caught himself and his train of words took another route. "He said that the fee would be pretty high because the place we're going is quite far."

Megumi stared at him. "And that was enough to make you scream like a banshee?"

"I did _not_ scream like a banshee!"

"Well, you are now!" And Megumi turned away from him again huffily.

Sano slouched even lower on his seat and fumed. Well, at least it _was_ like old times.

***

"Can we _please_ go now?!"

Megumi ignored him as she piled on him another package.

"We've been here for _four hours_!" pleaded Sano, trying to get out of the noontide sun's heat. "How much shopping could you still do?"

"Never ask a woman that, rooster. It would just make it worse," answered Megumi as she walked into another stall. "Besides, this was your idea." She admired a violet-colored cloth. "Isn't this pretty?"

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I knew you had this much money to spend!" hissed Sano, almost knocking down a vase as he struggled to balance all the packages he was carrying. "Let's go, let's go!"

"Quiet, rooster."

"I will once you say that we're going already!"

Megumi decided to ignore him.

"Say 'Let's go' already!"

Megumi looked at him, irritated. "Really, Sano, one would think that you were teaching a parrot to talk!"

"I'm just teaching a fox that too much shopping might leave one of us with heatstroke!"

"Ooh, look at that!"

Sano groaned and resignedly followed the Fox to the next stall. Megumi was looking at an old man with a pair of scissors snipping colorful pieces of paper efficiently with holes. On his table were many flat, 2-dimensional figures of animals such as dogs, monkeys, horses, cats, and the like, all finely snipped from paper.

"What's he doing?" asked Megumi to Sano.

"It's the Chinese art of paper-cutting," replied Sano, dropping Megumi's packages on the floor tiredly. "He's cutting out shapes of things from paper. Kind of like what we do to origami, only that he's doing it with scissors." 

"Interesting," Megumi said.

The old man laid down a figure of a prancing horse and grinned toothily at both them. Taking one look at Sano, he took his scissors and a square sheet of black paper. After snipping it with lightning speed in what seemed to be in every direction, he brought up a detailed form of...

"A rooster!" exclaimed Megumi, doubling from laughter. "I'm starting to like this paper-cutting business already, Sano! Could you ask him if he has bigger pieces?"

"Sheesh." Sano bent down to match the height of the paper-cutter. "Oi, _lao ye_! The lady would like to know if you have any bigger works."

"_You ah, you ah._" The old man nodded vigorously. "I'm currently working on one."

He took something out under his desk and brought it up. It was a beautiful figure of a dragon, considerably big in size and in black paper. It had been meticulously worked on; each aspect of the dragon, from its whiskers to its tail, had been snipped out. Each scale on the body of the dragon was a finely-cut polygon the size of a fingernail. Its claws were sharp, its teeth curved at the right angle, and its eyes were big and wide. Smoke curled from its nostrils. The dragon's movement looked like it was soaring upwards to heaven, arms outstretched. And all its accuracy was from cutting out fragments from a thin sheet of paper.

"It's gorgeous," breathed Megumi.

"It's not finished yet," the old man told Sano. "I'm working on the phoenix, and then it shall be complete."

"The dragon and phoenix," translated Sano to Megumi. "Nice concept there."

"What is?"

"Here in China, the dragon and the phoenix are used to represent the ideal man and woman. It's actually used to symbolize royalty: the dragon is the king and the phoenix the queen."

"How so?"

"The dragon is a strong man, a powerful creature that can bring either good or harm with its great strength. Its scales are impenetrable armor, its fire a great weapon, and its drawn claws and teeth signs of bravery and nobility. As for the phoenix," explained Sano knowingly, "she's a brave, elegantly beautiful woman who just can't be put out. Myth has it that when a phoenix is killed, she'll burn herself into cinders, but she'll rise back to life from her ashes and fly again. You can kill her or torture her, but that's not going to achieve anything for you. She'll be back, even stronger."

Megumi was quiet as Sano ended his narration. "That's a beautiful way of putting it," she said. "And you really put a lot of emphasis on the phoenix."

"A lot of the Chinese name their sons Dragons and their daughters Phoenixes," said Sano, swatting a mosquito on his arm. "It kind of shows that they're the best of their breed. So of course, all the dragons in China want a phoenix for a wife. You should hear how the guys at the gambling tables talk about their women. Suddenly, you're not sure if they're talking about a human or a mythological creature." Sano laughed.

Megumi looked thoughtful as she fingered the gossamer-thin dragon shape. "I'd love to see the entire thing when it's complete."

"Well," said Sano, looking up to the sun, "it won't be finished today, so we'll have to get a move on if you don't want to be late for your convention, fox."

"Oh, yes, the convention." Megumi looked at her watch. "And I still have to freshen up and get my things. Come on, slowpoke, let's go back to the inn."

"Best thing I've heard all morning," said Sano with a sigh of relief as he lugged her packages towards a rickshaw.

When they arrived in the inn, Sano made a beeline for Megumi's room and thankfully dropped the packages on the bed. He sank into a lacquered chair, groaning, "I'm beat!"

"You just have no endurance, rooster. Look at me: I came all the way with you, and I'm still as fresh as a daisy."

"An' you would have wilted like one if you were carrying everything you shopped for!" shot back Sano. "All you did was carry your wallet!" Sano proceeded to sit on his hands. "My hands are killing me!"

Megumi stopped combing her hair. Her eyes strayed to look at the reflection of Sano blowing his hands on her mirror, then she continued to run the comb through her raven tresses. "How's your hand?"

"I just told you that they're ki-"

"No, I meant _the_ hand."

Oh. That one. She still remembered? Sano drew his bandaged, right hand into a fist. He could still feel the ligaments contracting in protest. The pain was still there.

"It's fine, thanks," he said, his attitude suddenly more quiet.

Something in his tone made Megumi stop combing her hair again and turn around to face him. "It's been quite a long time since I had a look at that."

Sano lifted his eyebrows in agreement. "Quite a long time," he repeated.

"How frequently do you usually get that bandaged?"

Sano hesistated, but there was no use in fooling a doctor. "Once."

"Once every week?"

Sano did not quite meet her eyes. "Once since I...left Japan."

There was a loud clank as Megumi dropped the comb on the table. "Sagara Sanosuke, are you telling me that in all these years you only had it re-bandaged _once_?"

Sano shrugged listlessly. "Didn't think of it much."

"What do you mean, you didn't think of it much?! That is no reason to neglect it!" Megumi quickly made her way towards him and sat on the opposite chair. "Here, give me your hand."

"Come on, fox, it's no big deal..."

But Megumi ignored him and snatched his hand. Sano bit his lip to avoid flinching.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" asked Megumi.

Sano gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"Why didn't you see a doctor? No, don't tell me, it's in the male psyche not to ask for help, isn't it?"

Sanosuke didn't answer.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm bandaging it for you." Megumi stood up to get her equipment.

Sano protested. "Look, there's no reason for you to really do this."

"You're hurt, and that's reason enough," she said, authoritatively returning with a roll of gauze in her hand and a pair of scissors on the other. She took his hand carefully and began to unwrap the bandage.

"This is bad," she said, observing the limp fingers. She raised his palm to her eyes, rolling it. "You're going to need lots of time to recover."

Sano tried not to feel the excited tingles his nerves were rushing into his brain. This was hardly the time to be bothered by his animal instincts. Had he really missed her this much?

Suddenly, without even thinking, he grabbed the hand holding his. His grip was gentle, but firm.

Megumi looked surprised. "Sanosuke? Is something wrong?"

_Tell her that she filled your thoughts by day and your dreams by night,_ a voice told him. _Tell her that you tried to forget her-_

"Thanks," was all he could say to her through his beffudled brain.

"Oh." Megumi's face and voice seemed to be devoid of any expression.

"You should...you should probably bandage it now," he said, releasing her. "You're really going to be very late."

"Of course." As Megumi proceeded to silently wrap his hand with new bandage, she noticed the scar that ran right in the middle of it. There were other scars on the hand, but this one, as it used to before, caught her eyes again.

The hand that saved her from her own knife; blood that was shed so that hers would not be. The scar was a constant reminder that she was not alone in this world, and seeing it once more brought a flood of memories.

She finished bandaging it and quietly put away her equipment, feeling very odd.

Sano stood up immediately, mumbling "Thanks" again, feeling very stupid. He shoved both his hands into his pockets as he followed Megumi out of the door.

Both sat together in a rickshaw as the puller threaded through the busy streets. Each was occupied with his or her own thoughts. The air was moistly warm and the sea brought in a salty scent into the city.

Sano felt like he just drunk a dozen cups of sake, so disoriented that he was. He wasn't in self-denial or anything of that sort: he knew that he was falling in love with the fox. It was plain. But that was exactly the problem. He _didn't_ want to fall in love with her. Long before he first laid eyes on her, he was the Zanza, strong, free-willed, doing what he pleased, harboring no emotion save vengeance, and that was always settled quite easily by a whack of his zanbatou. But the moment he met her, he felt chained to her as her protector, to make sure no harm came to her. For the first time after the Sekihoutai disbanded, he worried greatly for someone else other than himself.

Sano looked at his right hand. It was bandaged, but he could still see in his mind the huge scar on it, the one he took for her. What made him grab that knife from her that other night, so long ago, he still wasn't sure. All that had possessed him was the thought that he couldn't let that beautiful woman hurt herself. Everything else had been automatic. He didn't even feel the pain the blade inflicted when he snatched it from her. 

It frightened him to think that he would have to look out for someone with a great degree of care. It made him feel vulnerable, a weak spot that could be easily seen by all people. When he left Japan, what he left most was her. He felt the changes of leaving her the most powerful, as if he was another man. Once more, he was obliged to take care of only one person: himself.

Sano gave an inward groan. Poverty had driven him into offering his services as a guide. If he only had a little more money, he would never had taken this job. Being with her everyday was only weakening him. And he couldn't risk that. He was hurt by love once; he didn't want to be hurt again. He just wanted to be left alone.

Megumi stared at the hooting barge that sailed across the river. Her heart had been racing when Sano had held her hand like that. It was as if he never wanted to let go. She thought this was _it_, the day that barriers would be broken and what they felt for each other finally revealed. But in the end, it proved that she had been deceiving herself again. She felt disgusted that she could even think of such a day. How could a man love someone who had killed his friend?

But then how could a woman love a man such as Sagara Sanosuke? He was vulgar, lazy, and boorishly stupid. He lived his life by the day and never planned ahead. True, he had good looks and great strength, but he could never raise a family having only that.

Vanity. This was all vanity. Her convention would end in a week's time, and they would part professionally as a city guide and his client would, the same way a doctor and her patient would. She would have to get used to that.

"Here we are," said Sano when the shaw stopped. They were quite far from downtown Shanghai. The air was quieter, less warm, and the waves of the sea could be easily heard. In front of them was a little hill with a reasonably large mansion atop it. There was a gate from where they stood.

Megumi paid the man and gathered her things. After Sano helped her out, she handed him some money. "Your return trip and your lunch."

Sano waved his hand dismissively. "I'll be fine with my own."

"Take it." Megumi would not take no for an answer.

Sano was firm. "No."

Megumi felt a bit irritated. "Take it, please."

"One would think you were teaching a parrot to talk, fox."

Megumi grew red, but she forcefully pressed the money into Sano's palm, saying, "Read my lips: you take the money. You look like you hadn't eaten since you left Japan."

Sano grudgingly accepted the money and pocketed it. "Thanks," he said for the third time. Then he gave her a crooked grin before jumping back into the rickshaw, saying, "By the way, you have great-looking lips."

When the rickshaw departed, Megumi touched her lips cautiously. She wondered.

**chapter two, end**


	3. The Cloud Before a Storm

** A/N:** Just have to clear a few things up. After I watched both parts of RK OAV 2, I learned that a lot of the details in Chapter 1 were wrong. First, this setting is supposed to be fifteen years after the series, meaning that Genzai-sensei, at the very least, would be too old to go traipsing to Aizu to greet Megumi. I think he'd prolly be dead by this time. ^^;; So instead of Genzai-sensei giving Megumi her Shanghai package, I made it in such a way that she received it from a doctor's organization. Secondly, I described Sano and Megumi very much older (think fifteen years after...Sano seemed to be growing a beard in the OAV ^^;;). And last, for those who knows what happened to Kenshin in the end of the OAV *sobs* (I'm not gonna spoil, don't worry), I changed the dialogue in where Sano asked Megumi about Kenshin and Kaoru. And expect Sano and Megumi to act older and more reserved in the succeeding chapters. Yes, it won't be as much fun as the old times, but they _have_ grown older. ^^ 

**The Dragon and the Phoenix**  
  
Chapter Three:   
The Cloud Before a Storm 

  


Sano stood silently in front of the inn.

He had told Megumi that he would wait for her here; he would have it in no other way. His job was to see to it that she was safe till the end of the day, and then he would have to report to the office.

He looked at the sky. The orange sun had dipped down. It was evening.

Sano closed his eyes and scratched his beard, feeling the Shanghai breeze blow across his face. Shanghai was the nearest place to Japan that he could go to. He had missed Japan very much. If he had his way, he would fight all the policemen who were hunting him down in Japan. What had prevented him from doing this was the fact that it would endanger everyone else. Enemies had a dirty way of getting to your loved ones just to get you, even if they didn't have anything to do with it. He could still remember what happened to Kaoru during Enishi's Jinchuu to Kenshin. He didn't want it happening to Megumi.

He wanted to go home so dearly.

There was a pit-patter of quick feet on the gravelstone and he opened his eyes. Megumi jumped out of the rickshaw and hurriedly paid the straw-hatted puller, almost dropping her coins with her trembling fingers. Sano blinked. The way she ran towards him reminded him of a skittered rabbit. 

"Daijoubu ka?" asked Sano, noticing her agitated movement. "Something wrong?"

Her face was drawn and pale and her eyes were darting to and fro. "I-I'm fine," she managed to say.

Sano blocked her way with his huge frame, folding his arms. "You'll have to do better than that," he said calmly. "It looks like someone's after you."

"Nothing of the sort," answered Megumi, neatly sidestepping Sanosuke block. She entered the inn, and without a word, she made way towards her door as quickly as she could, with Sano trailing behind her, not far off.

Sano released her and she went into the inn as quickly as she could without a word. He followed her to the door of her room.

"Please leave," said Megumi as she made a move to close the door.

Sano leaned on the doorjamb collectively. "Not until you tell me why you look as if someone pointed a gun at you."

Bingo.

Megumi eyes widened.

"Don't be surprised," said Sano. "Shanghai is a big city with many insecure people. Tell me who pointed a gun at you and I'll deal with him myself."

"This is a bit way too big, even for you," said Megumi, closing the door and locking it.

"So there _is_ something big going on that's frightening you, isn't it?" Sano called on the closed door.

"I didn't say that," was the answer.

"You were implying it. Other than the fact that you just bolted all the locks on your door and latched all your windows."

"Leave."

"My job is to make sure you're safe. Otherwise, I don't get paid."

"Oh, so you're asking me all these concerned questions because I might get in the way of your payroll?" There was an edge in her voice.

Sano kicked himself. He had no intention meaning it that way. But now that he had just said it-

"That's one of the reasons," he lied through his teeth.

"Thanks a lot. Don't worry, I'll take care of myself. You'll get your money."

Sano bit his lip. He didn't like lying to her one bit, yet he had sworn to himself that he would try to make their relationship as professional as possible. No feelings attached; it was just a job. Then she would leave Shanghai and he would be his own free man again. This relationship was doomed from the beginning, as he had foreseen. He was a wanted man and she was a respectable doctor who had a reputation to live.

"I'll stay here all the same," he said.

"What in heaven's name for?"

"Obviously, you're afraid of something, something that could hurt you from the way I see you acting. I'll stay on guard just in case."

"That really isn't necessary. I can take care of things myself."

"Some things are bigger than us."

"And some people would like to be left alone now, thank you very much."

There was a little pause when Sano didn't answer. Then Megumi cautiously asked, "You're just going to stand there in the hallway?"

"If I have to, yes."

"Don't you have a little drinking binge or something to attend to?"

It took much longer for Sano to answer. When he finally did, his demeanor had quieted and had grown less lively. "I don't do 'binges' anymore."

"Oh." Megumi had not expected this. "Well, congratulations then."

"Good night then."

"You're sleeping there?"

"Waiting." Sano's replies were getting shorter and shorter.

"Fine," said Megumi to herself.

***

Shanghai slept not a wink.

Neither did Megumi that night. Her thoughts were so full of what she had seen and what had happened that day. What had happened at the convention, if that was what it was still called. She had been baited, and she had taken it. She had vowed she would never do it ever again, and here it was, coming even more dangerously than it had come the first time.

Her heart thudded violently. She was alone in Shanghai...no, she couldn't ask for Sano's help; this will cost him more than just a scar on his hand. Lives were at stake here. But she was not afraid of dying. Yet she wanted to do something, anything, or else so many people will suffer.

For the fifth time, she rose from her bed and gingerly opened the shades, looking at the moon. Two hours, she had tried to sleep, to no avail. Her fingers felt tremulous as she pulled the shades down. She had to be careful.

"Megumi." Sano's voice floated from the door, and Megumi almost jumped from surprise. He was still here?

"You're not getting any sleep there, are you?" was his question.

Suddenly, she wanted to tell him everything, the entire, horrible story. He had sat up there for two hours...no, he had waited for her the whole day! Surely...surely she could-?

Megumi squashed the thought desperately. She had decided that no one else's blood would be involved...except hers. She was old now, not that vigorous twenty-two year old anymore who could have taken over the world if she wanted to. She had no husband or family to worry about. During the next years of her life, she will be able to do less and less. Yes, she could afford risking herself. But this must be done alone. Alone...by her own.

It was as if Sano had read her thoughts. He leaned on the wall, seated, his elbows on his knees. "I traveled all over the world and I've never seen a stronger woman than you," he said quietly. "But you don't always have to be. Sometimes..." and here he passed a hand over his sleep-hungry eyes, "some things were meant to be done together."

She did not reply. Sano expected as much. Megumi was a hard woman to persuade. A feeble, cheeky grin spread across his face despite himself. That was probably why he liked her so much in the first place.

Suddenly, there a small noise coming from the room.

The grin vanished.

He heard the noise again and he stood up.

Something about the sound of the window had been unnatural. Years and years of solitude and experience had taught him that even the smallest noise can tell a story. And this noise was by no means a pleasant one.

Sanosuke carefully leaned his ear on the door, his brows furrowed in concentration. Instincts ringing all over his head, he knocked on the door. "Megumi? Is everything all right?"

Naturally there was no answer. He tried opening the door but it was locked. Sano set his jaw firmly. Megumi may think him insane and will be mortified for life, but when someone's life was in danger, there was no time to think of proper etiquette. He pulled his left fist next to his shoulder. After his right hand had been broken by fighting with Shishio, he knew he could never use his Futae no Kiwami with it again. But after fifteen years of lonely, relentless practice, he had enabled his entire body with the move. His head, his left hand, his feet; all of them, like Anji, could easily reduce anything to dust. He had finally mastered Futae no Kiwami.

Eyes smoldering, he brought his fist onto the door with all the energy he could muster. There was a tremendous crash and the wind created by the force scattered debris all over the place. The door was open.

Sano rushed in before the dust could even clear. The room was dark but he knew that Megumi was gone. His eyes went straight to the windows. One of them was open, the night wind rustling its curtains like a rag doll. The room was in a disarray, with the signs of a struggle. Megumi had been kidnapped.

Sano took a deep breath and calmed himself, letting his senses take control rather than his bubbling emotions. The window, of course, had been the kidnapper's exit, but looking out, he had seen no one. He closed his eyes. He had acquired the instincts of a hardened fighter over the years; it was time for these instincts to work their magic.

Listen. Feel.

There it was.

Sano's eyes snapped open. He jumped out of the window, hair and cape flying, into a greatly-boughed tree. His arms caught one of the thicker branches and he looked up.

There, stock-still, hiding by the shadows of the branches and leaves, were two figures; a man crouched low, locking an arm over the neck of a woman, his other hand clamped shut over her mouth.

Sano narrowed his eyes. There were no questions to be issued forth; only action.

With a smooth flip, he flashed through the moonlight, but his opponent proved to have foreseen his speed. Before Sano could get a good hold onto a branch, the stranger reached out his fist, armed with brass knuckles, and gave a terrific blow on Sano's cheek. Disoriented and with his head ringing, Sanosuke lost his balance and fell down, spiraling from branch to branch and landing with a thud on the ground, leaves fluttering over his head.

Megumi cried out his name and her captor leaped off the tree effortlessly. His feet thumped on the ground a few inches away from Sano head. He was about to kick him when Sanosuke sprang up to life, catching his foot and twisting it. The captor, his curse muffled by the mask over his mouth, was taken by surprise and twirled over, releasing Megumi.

Sano was about to catch Megumi when someone else knocked him aside with such force that he skidded uncontrollably sidewards and crashed onto the trunk of tree. An electrical spasm of pain shot across his back. Panting, he flipped his long hair over his head, mouth bleeding. He glared up.

Astride on horses in front of him was a group of six men, dressed in black with thick caps over their heads and masks over their mouths. Each wore a gun on his hip, except the one who stood at the most front who wore two guns. He was their leader, a tall man, muscles bulging from his arms and legs. Each side of his hip held a long-nosed pistol, and by his side, cuffed with his huge arm and gagged by his beefy hand, was Megumi. The moonlight shone upon them and Sano could see the bewildered fear and concern on her face and the light glinting off the shiny pistols.

If he had been younger, Sano would have wasted no time in rushing out and given the strange man and his sable-clad group a thrashing worth of the Zanza. But now, as he sized up the huge leader and his fully armed and horsed platoon, he could see no chances in his being able to rescue Megumi. 

The leader took one of his pistols and aimed at Sano. Megumi's eyes widened and a muffled sound coming from the leader's arm signified that she had screamed. Sano leveled his gaze at the barrel of the gun.

A shot was fired and Megumi gave a distinct jump. A newly-formed hole lay an inch away from Sano's feet.

"I trust you will not do anything foolish?" asked the leader, surprisingly in Japanese. He had not lowered his gun. "You look like a wise man; continue being so and I will let you live for another day."

Sano flushed. He might had grown wiser over the years, but he still had not learned how to control his disastrous temper. "Don't flatter yourself," he snarled. "I live for no one but myself."

But the other man merely gave a laugh as he holstered his pistol."I'm not one to waste breath to people who vainly try to be witty. My business here is done. Izukawa!" he called to the man who Sano had knocked down earlier. "Get your sorry ass over here."

The man limped towards an empty horse one of his comrades held for him, but not before spitting on Sano. Sano spat back at him, and Izukawa turned back, enraged by his challenge.

"E-nough!" roared the leader. "We are not here to have a spitting match with his raggedy one. Come!"

Izukawa grudgingly filed in with the troop. After casting one last contemptuous glance at Sano, the leader turned his horse around and galloped off with Megumi hanging by his arm for dear life. The rest of the group followed, and after a stamp of hooves and a swirling of dust, they were gone.

Sano got up, fists clenched, body tensed. Then he quickly turned around and dashed back to the inn.

They weren't the only one with horses.

**chapter three, end**


End file.
